Show the Story About the Program

Hide Text

The Chinese-built C919 made its first flight last Friday following a 3-year delay. The aircraft was to have originally flown in 2014, but production and other issues continually delayed the milestone. Still, COMAC, the state-owned company manufacturing the C919, is hopeful that the Chinese airliner will one day be competitive with single-aisle aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. The initial flight of the C919 lasted about 80 minutes. It flew over the Yangtze River delta where it performed several maneuvers before returning south along the coast to land back at Shanghai International Airport. The plane flew at an altitude of about 10,000 feet at speeds up to 161 knots. After several incidents involving drones near Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in the southwestern province of Sichuan in China, dronemaker DJI is offering a reward of up to one million Yuan, or about $145,000, for information about the pilot or pilots in the incidents. The incidents occurred on April 14, 17, 18 and 21. Drones flying near the airport reportedly interfered with more than 100 flights. As many as 10,000 passengers were reportedly affected. The Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus spending bill passed last week by the U.S. Congress provides key funding for general aviation manufacturers in safety, certification, and alternative fuels, according to analysis from GAMA. The bill, which now heads to President Trump for his signature, will fund the U.S. government through September 30, 2017. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!